A Louisiana family has filed a lawsuit against a Gretna, La., police officer who allegedly Tasered a 7-year-old boy during a traffic stop. According to the lawsuit, the officer Tased both the driver and his son after the driver declined to step out of the car during the traffic stop. The boy was treated for burns on his leg caused by the shock. The suit is seeking $325,000 in damages from the officer, the department and the city.

LegalZoom.com Inc. has agreed to a $5 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by Missouri residents against the legal document vendor. The lawsuit claims LegalZoom.com is not “licensed to provide legal services in Missouri,” and that the documents may be defective. The plaintiffs are to file a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement by Sept. 23, the Kansas City Star reports. LegalZoom also plans to adopt some changes to its practices so it can continue to offer services in the state.

A Montana woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the tavern her daughter was working at prior to her death in an alcohol-related car crash. According to the lawsuit, management at the Windsor Bar in Boulder, Mont. encouraged Dallice Smith to drink on the job then allowed her to drive despite knowing she was intoxicated. The case is scheduled to be heard in Jefferson County District Court in Boulder.

A recently released study concludes that the FDA should “abandon” its present system for approving U.S. medical devices such as the because it fails to ensure patient safety.

Currently the FDA employs a streamlined approach to approve medical device applications such as those for the beleaguered DePuy knee and hip parts – a process that takes 10 months as opposed to several years.

However, this quick process is unreliable. As the result of a faulty or inadequate screening process, many patients with medical devices have found themselves harmed by medical devices, implanted with recalled items that require additional, painful and sometimes dangerous surgeries.

One patient who required revision surgery to fix a recalled DePuy Hip part states, “You put your faith in the doctor and the companies that make these products because they’re the experts…It’s just beyond me to think that things can get approved that don’t really work” reports ABC News.

Unfortunately, faulty medical devices are placed in patients at an alarming rate. A study from the National Research Center for Women and families found that more than 437 million devices were recalled in 2010 due to fears that they might kill and permanently harm patients.

Grocery store chain H-E-B has issued a recall of store brand cottage cheese, dips, yogurt and sour cream sold between June 18 and July 26. The products, sold in 8-ounce, 16-ounce, 24-ounce and 32-ounce sizes, were recalled due to the possible presence of “foreign material.” There have been no reports of injuries associated with the recall products.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of 77,000 electric baseboard and fan heater thermostats imported by Honeywell International Inc. The agency reported that the thermostats can overheat and begin to smoke and burn. There have been 16 reports of the thermostats melting but no injuries occurred.

Starbucks Coffee Co. has expanded its recall of boxed sandwich products at the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The initial recall, issued earlier this month, covered the Starbucks Chipotle Chicken Wraps Bistro Box and the Starbucks Chicken & Hummus Bistro Box, while the expanded recall also includes the Starbucks Salumi and Cheese Bistro Box and the Starbucks Chicken Lettuce Wraps Bistro Box. The affected products were only sold in Alabama and Georgia.

Ross Stores Inc. has issued a recall of 1,200 Acacia chairs after it was discovered they might collapse when weight is put on them. The products were sold at Ross stores across the country between March and May of this year. The company has received five reports of chairs breaking, including four minor injuries.

A U.S. Army reservist in Iowa has filed a lawsuit against the city of Altoona, Iowa, after he was acquitted of a 2005 hit-and-run murder in a local Lowes parking lot. The lawsuit accused police officers of “unilaterally excluding hundreds of other vehicles that more nearly matched the description of the vehicle that purportedly struck decedent” during their investigation. The plaintiff claims he was arrested without probable cause and that his arrest caused “humiliation, anxiety, loss of sleep, severe mental and emotional distress, legal bills and ‘exposure to public hatred, contempt and ridicule’.”

The city of San Diego has agreed to a $500,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed over an off-duty police shooting of a young boy in 2008. The boy was shot once in the leg during a “road rage” altercation between his mother, who had been driving drunk, and an off-duty officer. The lawsuit was filed by the boy’s father, who was stationed in Iraq at the time of the incident.